Most people are
not aware of 'animal products' used in wine making. 'Fining" is
one of the wine processing stages, which uses proteins obtained from animal products to remove
unwanted color, haze, bitterness, excessive astringency,
off-flavors, unpleasant odors, etc. Usually, the fining agent
itself is eliminated before the wine is bottled.

We offer vegetarian wines which do not use any animal products.

What are vegetarian wines?

Vegetarian
wines are the wines made without the use of any sort of animal
products.

Is it true that wines have animal products in
them?

Yes, Wines can be both vegetarian and
non-vegetarian depending on use of animal products during a process
called fining in wine-making.

What is fining?
Fining is a process in wine making which removes floating
particles present in wine barrels. The fining agents are proteins obtained from animals which when put in
wines,
coagulates with the particles, and settles on the base as
sediment.

What do
these wines use in fining if not the proteins from Animals?

These wines make use of Bentonite, a kind of
clay
instead of Isinglass or Gelatin, hence
making them vegetarian. However it is always a good idea to check
certifications of wine before buying it if you are a
strict vegetarian.

What are the most commonly used fining agents?

Following are the fining agents commonly
used by wine makers:

IsinglassIsinglass is a compound obtained from swim
bladder of fishes. It is also called gelatin in the winemaking
industry.

Egg WhiteEgg white is a pure protein and acts
as coagulating agent.

GelatinGelatin is obtained from bones, cartilage, skin of animals.
Gelatin is prepared by partial hydrolysis of the collagen
extracted from skin, bones, cartilage, ligaments, etc. Most of the
gelatin used in the wine industry comes from Leather or meat
industry.

KiesolsolThe
chemical name is liquid silicon dioxide. It solves two purposes,
first is reducing bitter components from white wines and second is
clarifying agent, where it is used with gelatin obtained from
animal bones and cartilages.